Manuscript Report 166

166. Larter N.C. and Allaire D.  2005.  Sheep surveys of the Liard Range, Nahanni Range and Ram Plateau in the Mackenzie Mountains, August 2003.  18 pp.

 ABSTRACT

We conducted aerial surveys for Dall’s sheep (Ovis dalli dalli) in the Liard Range, the Nahanni Range and the Ram Plateau of the Mackenzie Mountains in August 2003 to document sheep distribution and lamb crop.  Sheep were classified from the air into four sex/age classes: lambs, yearlings, ewes, and rams.  We used digital photographs taken of all groups to verify sex/age classifications.  We used a handheld global positioning system to track the survey flight paths and record the locations of all wildlife seen.   We classified 122, 68, and 15 Dall’s sheep in the Liard Range, Nahanni Range, and Ram Plateau, respectively.  We estimated the number of lambs per 100 ewes at 59.6, 45.0, and 60.0 for the Liard Range, Nahanni Range, and Ram Plateau, respectively.  Pooled across the 3 areas, we estimated 53.6 lambs per 100 ewes.  We estimated the number of rams per 100 ewes at 69.2, 22.5, and 120.0 for the Liard Range, Nahanni Range, and Ram Plateau, respectively.  Pooled across the 3 areas, we estimated 52.6 rams per 100 ewes.  Other wildlife observed during the surveys included 5 mountain goats (Oreamnos americanus), 5 black bears (Ursus americanus), 2 grizzly bears (Urctos arctos), 2 moose (Alces alces), 1 bison (Bison bison athabascae), and 1 golden eagle (Áquila chrysáetos).  We also observed a group of 12 Dall’s sheep rams on the upper Kotaneelee range.